For a Price
by crazypandagirl
Summary: After sacrificing herself, Robin is faced with a choice: watch those she loves from the brink of death, never to return; or find and provide the Hero of Twilight her assistance as his journey is about to begin. But as everyone finds, knowing war for all four years of her what amnesia has allowed her has left her far more damaged than what they could imagine. (Not abandoned!)
1. Chapter 1

No POV (at all for this story, odd for me, I know)

A light sigh passes through slightly chapped, rosy pink lips of a young woman, who can't possibly be any older than twenty, with snowy hair, slightly peeking out from under a large hood. She stares up at the setting sun from her seat on the hill in the middle of the field, her branded hand -the six eyes now only showing as a faint pink scar whereas it had once shone dark purple- fiddling with a small flower she had picked a while before. With a slight shiver, she pulls her heavy purple cloak closer over a simple silver gown, torn along the hem and grass stained where it's trailed on the ground for gods know how long, and blood stains discolor the gown in small spots all around the shimmering skirt.

She closes her eyes, feeling exhaustion settle over her in an almost numbing blanket, when alertness shocks through her system violently as the sound of something on the approach from the distance, not too far off, and very fast, makes its way to her. She opens her eyes to find a large, shadowed figure moving almost as fast as the demons of Grima, and forces herself to rise, running back to the road in the direction of the woods, remembering having seen the signs of a village being in this direction during the day while she had been wandering around before trying to settle down for the night, now unsuccessful in her endeavor.

The winding trail takes her past a small house, one she finds dark and uninviting, therefore deciding to pass over. Continuing to follow the path, she finds a split to go left and right, the left into a cave system, the right a lighter tunnel with the sound of splashing water, not to mention some sort of activity over there. Voices reach her sensitive ears, talking in hushed voices, and a horse's patient snorting as it grazes by its master as well. She clenches her hands in front of her chest, nervous and fearful, staying close to the wall, trying to stay hidden behind the large brown beauty as best she can, while still admiring the spring and the area around it.

"Link, do you ever feel the sense of melancholy whenever twilight descends upon the land?" the older blonde asks the younger one, turning to the obvious rancher to his left.

The young man nods quietly before nodding. "Yes, I do sometimes, Rusl. I must admit, it is an odd feeling, for I feel it only some days, and others I don't," he informs his elder. He then frowns. "Why do you bring it up?" he asks, curiosity oozing out of his very pores.

The man shakes his head. "No real reason, I was just wondering if you too felt a similar sensation." He turns to the spring, relaxing for a moment.

The rancher, sighing, rises to his feet, dusting off his rear and turning to his horse, then stopping with a gasp. The girl simply stares at him, slightly fearful as she cringes back, trying to melt into the tunnel wall and leaning back. He steps forward slightly, a gentle smile on his face. "Rusl, I think we have a refugee here," he calls back to his friend, eyeing the state of her garb.

The man rises and hurries to the younger man's side, making the girl stumble back, tripping on the hem of her skirt and nearly tumbling to the ground before Link's quick reflexes allow him to rush forward to catch her before she crashes to the rocky ground. She doesn't struggle against him, but shivers in his grasp and hides her face in his arm the best she can.

He cradles her in his arms as Rusl approaches them. "Young lady, who are you, and where are you from?" he inquires gently, before gesturing to himself and Link. "My name is Rusl, and this is Link. We live in Ordon, just over the ravine."

She turns her head to look at him, finding no malice, only wonder and concern. "R-Robin, sir. I lived in Ylisse as a tactician before, in a different world." She then looks at the six eyes branded onto the back of her right hand. "You probably don't believe me, do you?"

Rusl shakes his head. "Actually, I do believe in parallel worlds and other such things, so I wouldn't be surprised if that is where you are from. Besides, you don't seem like to type to spin tall tales or be easily scared."

She shakes her head, letting the hood fall from her head, revealing eyes like the darkest honey, a small nose, and bangs falling askew into her eyes and mouth, no longer held back by the cloth. "Why, that stupid-!" she curses the fabric, pulling away from Link to shove her hair out of her face in irritation, making both men laugh, though Rusl silently takes in the scars on her cheek and hands, and the thick calluses on her palms.

He clears his throat. "What did it entail, being a tactician in your world?" he asks.

She smiles softly, yet sadly. "Just that, taking charge of the Exalt's army and ensuring as many of the soldiers Chrom was given were able to return home after each of the wars. Even… even if I couldn't after the last one."

Link frowns at that. "What do you mean, you couldn't return home?"

Her gaze becomes faraway, as she becomes lost in her own memory. "When weighed against millions, what is one life, no?" she asks them rhetorically, and she spies a set of interesting blue earrings in his earlobes.

" _Robin, no!" he yells as she pushes him aside, just before he is about to land the final blow to her doppelganger._

 _She shakes her head, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Chrom! But you know how this has to end!" she shouts at him over the wind, before turning her blade on their enemy, and with a magnificent sweep of her silver sword, the tactician buries the blade hilt deep into the chest of her future self. A world of pain, of agony, fills her, takes over her mind, as the other her steps back, black blood spilling to Grima's scales as she falls, her own black tinted but crimson blood spilling from her lips and unknown number of wounds all over her body._

" _Robin!" Chrom roars, running to his best friend's side, catching her as she falls to the side, gasping for breath. "Come on Robin, stay with me!" He turns back to find Lissa and Morgan rushing forward, their spouses hot on their tails, the enemies gone with the fall of their master. "Look at me! You're gonna make it, you're gonna be okay!"_

 _She smiles and coughs, hacking up ever more blood, staining his once perfect uniform, for which the maids would fret over later. "You… fool… let me… do… what I… want… What is… one… life… Chrom…?" she asks him, to which he finally understands, she sees it in his eyes. "Tell them… it… for them… I will… treasure… memory… I want… meet… y-yoo-ouu… aagg-ggaa-aaiiinnn…" she whispers with her final breath, as she and her counterpart fade from existence, leaving nothing behind, nothing but glitter, blood, and the memories to haunt the Shepherds._

 _Unbeknownst to them, Naga caught Robin before her spirit vanished, and let her watch what happened next. She watched as Naga spared them in the crash of Grima's body back to Earth, and the encouragement for her to return to life with them, and the promise for them to never stop searching for her._

 _However, there was a price to this._

" _Robin, Hyrule is in need of assistance. Soon, darkness will be taking over, and the power of the gods will be tested by three mortals once more, this time with the use of light and darkness. You have been through both, and have the power to resist darkness, even throw off the power of a near god," the divine dragon informs her. "If you choose help the youth who is to become the Hero of Twilight, you will have the chance to return to your world. If you don't, then you won't ever be able to return, only remain here and watch over them for all eternity. The choice is yours."_

 _She looks over to Morgan, who stares off into space, ignoring everything going on around him, thinking about the mother he just lost. The boy who looks like nobody from this world, with pointed ears, striking blue eyes, and much taller than her childish height –the joke only ever made once for a very good reason- but an average height overall, and a different set of sword skills from the other children, which he couldn't explain due to his amnesia, so like her own. The only memento he had of his parents was the coat on his back and the blue earrings she swore she would never buy for herself, yet he claimed to have found in his pocket only recently._

 _With determination, she looked to Naga and nodded. "I will find the Hero of Twilight, and give him my aid, if it means getting back to Morgan."_

Coming back to herself, she finds her feet being guided over a rickety bridge to the other side of a ravine, Link keeping his arm wrapped carefully around her shoulder to lend her warmth and to guide her at the same time. Robin blinks and rotates her head slowly, finding Rusl to be only just ahead of them, holding the horse's reigns.

Link, noticing she's coming around again, breathes a sigh of relief. "Glad to see you're back, Robin," he murmurs gently.

She casts her eyes down slightly. "I'm sorry, Link. I've just… been through a lot before I got here."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he offers.

She opens her mouth almost immediately to accept, but hesitates. Could she really burden him with the knowledge that she had been destined to destroy her world? That she had essentially killed herself rather than letting someone else put a dragon to sleep to spare her life? Share that she had been responsible for the destruction of the world in one time, and for the death of a ruler she had held dear? The sister of her best friend? That most of what she knew of life was war, strife, betrayal, and bloodshed, a life without hope or lasting peace?

A shadow of grief fills her eyes as she shakes her head. "No, thank you, Link. Maybe someday, but… I just can't right now."

He seems to understand, and lets the matter drop, continuing to hold her close as Rusl hands him the reigns so he can lock the gates to the bridge. Seeing Robin look at the mare, Link nudges her over. "This is my horse, Epona. She's a bit wild, but she's sweet once you get to know her."

The horse, getting a whiff of the blood, sweat, metal, and tears on Robin the humans can't detect, snorts and nuzzles up to her, also sensing her hidden stress from the trauma. Robin hesitantly rubs the creature behind her ears, smiling slightly to herself as the tension drains from her body. "By Naga, she is the sweetest horse I've ever encountered, wild or trained," she compliments.

Rusl, almost seeing something of a soldier after a bloody war, pales slightly. "By Nayru," he whispers in horror, seeing for the first time just how clean the scars are, and just how similar the calluses on her hands are to those on his from years of being a palace guard, using a sword and various other weapons. And a scar on her hand, not puckered like it was carved into her skin, but like burnt into her skin when she might have been a child, or even a faded tattoo from childhood, marking her as someone's property. He quickly turns away to lead the younger people past the spring once the gate is secured, Link explaining what it is, and promising to show her there the next day.

When they reach Link's tree house, Rusl pulls the younger man aside. "Can you bring Robin to see Bo now? I need to get Colin and Uli home before it gets too much later, and you need to make sure Fado doesn't need any help up at the ranch," he explains, and they look to see the very short woman nervously introducing herself to Uli and Colin, smiling shyly, though a true smile of joy.

Link, feeling a foreign sensation of needing to keep that smile there forever, nods. "I'll take care of it. I'll just get the wood inside, then I'll be into town to distribute everyone else's shares."

Nodding, Rusl leaves him, tapping his wife and son on their shoulders, dismissing them politely from Robin for the night, leaving her with a smile. She then turns to Link, smiling shyly and walks back to Epona, rubbing between her eyes. "So, Link, what did Rusl have to say about me?" she asks hesitantly.

"Nothing bad, he just wanted me to take you to see our mayor, Bo, before it got to be too late," he informs her, going around Epona to relieve her of a bundle of wood tethered to her saddle. "While we're in the town, we'll also be dropping off a bundle at everyone's house, but there's only four other houses, so it won't take long." Robin nods, and watches as he skillfully climbs up the ladder to his house, somehow managing to hold the bundle without a problem and get up there in less than ten seconds, then jumping back down rather than climbing back down. He then walks over to her. "Shall we be off? I also need to be sure Fado isn't having any problems with the goats again."

Smiling, Robin walks beside him, Epona following behind them into the village. Their first stop is very quick, Link just grabbing a bundle and running into Sera's shop to give them theirs before they close up for the night, then catching a child named Talo to give his parents their wood in the last ditch effort to get him home before they realized he wasn't home again, and leaving Rusl's with him at the creek where he had decided to get some sword practice in.

Robin, though standing back, saw a small flaw in his stance, and an overuse of power in his swings, which would lead to him being exhausted faster in even a practice match than would be necessary, and could lead to a fatal mistake should he ever be called on to defend the village. Making a mental note to talk to him about it in the morning in a manner like she had with Chrom, she follows Link up the rest of the short part of the hill to the next house, the largest one in the village, where a rather large man and a blonde girl only just shorter than Link stand outside.

"Link!" the girl calls, excited, then her face falls, seeing another girl with him. "Who's that?" she asks, venom in her voice.

The male seems oblivious, but Robin decides to turn a blind eye to it, not having any kind of particular interest in Link beyond being friends with him, unlike this girl, who clearly has a major crush on him. "Ilia, Bo, this is Robin. Rusl and I stumbled across her when we were in Faron woods this evening, and we were wondering what we were to do with her. She is not from this world, and we are only to assume that she is going to be stuck here for a while," he informs them while untethering the second-to-last bundle from his saddle.

The mayor steps towards her, opening his squinted eyes slightly to get a better look at her. "You look like you've been through a lot, young lady."

She stiffens and looks anywhere but at them. "Three wars and amnesia does that to a tactician, sir," she replies stiffly.

Link's head swivels to stare at her. "Three wars?" he asks for clarification, to which she nods. "In just how many years? You're barely even twenty!"

"Four years," she mumbles under her breath, clenching her fists and eyes shut, whole body trembling. "I don't want to talk about it. Please, just stop," she begs, almost brokenly.

Almost pityingly, Ilia takes her hand. "Let's go to the Spirit's Spring, it'll calm you right down. It's the most soothing place, I'm sure you saw it on your way here." She guides the tactician away, eyes locking on Link. "Where is she staying?"

"We hadn't figured that part out yet," he informs her.

Ilia turns to Robin. "Do you care where you stay?" she asks, getting a head shake in response. She then turns to her father. "Daddy, does anyone have any extra space at their house?"

Before Bo can answer, Link shakes his head. "I'll just need to clean up the loft. I'm the only one with any extra space here, now that Uli and Rusl are going to be having their baby anytime now."

Ilia nods. "Then I'll just take her to your house in a little while," she informs them, before dragging the short girl off to the Spirit's Spring to relax for a little while.

The men stand there staring after them for a moment before shaking their heads. "I can't believe it, she's survived through three wars and come out so well," Bo comments.

Link gives him a worried look as he hands over the bundle of wood. "Is war really that bad?"

The large man nods solemnly. "You have no idea my boy, nor do you ever want to. War has a way of changing a person, and never for the better. A person may physically have scars when they come home, and be hailed a hero, and look not much different than when they left but for some muscles, but their minds are scarred with untold horrors. It is best to stay uninvolved with it, Link, lest you find a way to recover fast. That girl has been in back to back war, and it may be the only thing she knows. She is scarred, and she is scared."

The younger man nods and takes Epona's reigns. "I'll be checking up on the ranch before I head home for the night, Bo. Have a good night."

"Link, one piece of advice, about Robin?" Bo calls out before Link gets too far. The younger man looks back, acknowledging him. "Don't ever tell her a lie, or turn her away if she needs something right now. Just be there for her. I'll assume you were the first one to find her in this world?"

"Yes, I was," he confirms, unsure of where the mayor could be going with this.

"Then she will have already formed an unconscious trust in you, and may already see you as a friend. That is all Link. Good night." With that, he walks into his house for the night, remembering to leave the door unlocked for when Ilia returns later.

When he reaches the ranch, he finds Fado chasing the goats around in circles, and a few chasing him around as well, angry at having been chased around too much by a silly human. Placing the last bundle of wood by the gate before shutting the heavy wooden doors left open by some mistake once more, Link hops on top of Epona and begins aiding his fellow rancher, herding the goats into the barn quickly and efficiently without getting them angry.

Relieved at having been rescued and the goats all being put away for the night, Fado approaches Link as he dismounts. "Thanks for showin' up when ya did, buddy! I woulda come an asked ya for help, but some o' these guys were busy chasin' me 'round an' I couldn't get away quick enough!"

Link shakes his head, grinning in amusement at his friend's antics. "Did the monkeys set them off again?" he asks.

"I'm athinkin' so! Malo swears he saw 'em again today causin' a big ol' racket down past Sera's," he informs Link. "So, you wanna practice jumpin' fences again?"

He shakes his head. "I need to clean up the loft, I have someone staying over at my place for a while."

"WHO?! You never git a guest!"

Link winces, rubbing his ears. "We found a refugee from some other world, her name is Robin, I'll introduce you tomorrow, but I'm the only one with any extra space, and she's comfortable enough around me, so I figured why not let her stay over."

Fado grins at this. "Ya like this girl, don't ya?"

Link rolls his eyes. "She's something to look at, I'll admit, and she's nice, but she just needs a place to stay right now."

"Yer avoiding the question, Link."

He glares at Fado. "And you're prying."

"Tryin' to get Ilia off yer back?" he asks. Link stiffens, and Fado grins in triumph. "Admit it, she's been crushin' on ya, and it's been botherin' ya from day one, and now that ya found another girl ya like, ya see a chance to tell her ta stop it!"

Link turns away from Fado. "I don't want to hurt her feelings, since we've been friends our whole lives."

"Link, buddy, we all know you ain't meant to be tied down to this small town in the boonies. Ya just gotta see it fer yerself. Fer now, go on home, make sure the pretty lady has a bed," he jokes, patting Link on the shoulder. "And Ilia will understand, it's just a phase she's agoin' through! Don't worry 'bout her, got it?"

Link finally cracks a smile. "Thanks, Fado. See you tomorrow!"

"Take tomorrow off Link, relax and show Robin around, introduce her to everyone and all that," Fado orders him sternly.

Shaking his head, Link mounts Epona once more and jumps the gate out of the ranch, trotting through the village as the sky quickly darkens, seeing the candle lights flickering in every house, including his own as he reaches the ladder. Tying Epona reigns next to her trough of food and water, he climbs up the ladder to find Robin sitting in front of his fireplace, her coat draped over the back of her chair. He finds her silver dress to be sleeveless as she rises to greet him, cut to cover her back and most over her chest, though leaving her scarred arms and shoulders bare for freer movement. Her skirt turns out to have slits up to her hips, revealing tan leggings underneath the ensemble as she moves towards him. She now wears her hair in a braid over her shoulder, organized and picked out with pale pink and blue flowers found only at the Spirit Springs.

"Hi, Link," she greets him, blushing under his inspection.

His eyes flick back to the coat draped over the back of the chair, before he walks up to her, taking an arm in hand, running his fingers up along one scar from the length of her wrist until it vanishes under her dress. "Robin… I promise I won't ask until you want to tell me, if you ever decide you do, but just know that you can trust me, alright?"

She smiles and nods. "Thank you, Link," she whispers.

He releases her arm and steps away, going over to the cabinet to pull out the half loaf of bread, smoked ham, and cheese. "If you could fix us some food, I'll go get the loft presentable, and see if there is something I have you can borrow to sleep in."

"Alright, but are you saying that to be nice, or because you just want to see a girl wearing your clothes, handsome?" she teases him, blushing slightly.

Though he blushes, he smirks at her. "Guess I shouldn't have tried to outwit a tactician, huh?" he shoots right back, making her blush an even brighter red. Feeling thoroughly accomplished, he climbs the sets of ladders up to the top of his tree house to the highest loft, grabbing the spare pillow on his way up. Reaching the loft, he's pleased to find he didn't leave it in too much of a mess, just his blankets strewn everywhere and the majority of the trinkets he's gathered ever since he first learned to walk, and had been allowed to traverse Faron Woods with Rusl.

Hurrying, he gathers up the old trinkets from ancient civilizations and carries them back to their places on the shelf, carefully placed so that they won't fall off in case he accidentally walks into the shelf, or if Robin does by accident, as she doesn't know the layout of the house yet. He then takes a rag broom and takes care of the dust and grass that's built up –how in Farore's name did grass get up there anyway?

Finally, he returns downstairs, carrying an old nightshirt that could be considered a nightgown for Robin, she's so short and it's so large, even for him, although he also has a pair of breeches and shirt from when he was much younger that stand a much better chance of fitting her, as well as being much more suited for life in Ordon than a fancy dress.

"It's not much, but it's something," he informs her, holding out the clothes to the rosy cheeked girl, trading them for a sandwich. "If they're still a bit big, you can ask Ilia for some of her old clothes that might fit you."

She takes them and climbs the ladders like she's been doing it all her life. "I think these will fit just fine, Link, thanks," she calls back, making sure that Link can't see her before she slides out of the silver gown and leggings, pulling off her knee high leather boots and the socks underneath. She then pulls on the soft cotton nightshirt Link had given her, being enveloped in the fresh, grassy scent that seems to fill the house. Pulling it down past her hips, she finds it to continue down to her knees, and a just a couple inches more, being almost a nightgown. Blushing again at the fact that she's wearing a man's clothes, she pulls on the breeches, finding them to be only slightly too big, but perfect for sleepwear.

Coming back down the ladders, Link takes in a good eyeful, giving a long whistle at the view. "Wow, I think you're gonna have to keep that outfit for yourself," he teases.

She covers her blushing cheeks with her hands and picks up her half eaten sandwich, continuing to take another bite. "Link, stop teasing me. We just met, and you're already worse than Virion… I take that back, you're not proposing, he proposed to Sully before he even introduced himself."

Shaking his head, Link takes another bite out of his meal, before clearing his throat. "Before I forget, I wanted to let you know that Rusl asked me to present the annual gift to the Royal Family of Hyrule, in his place, since I've never been out of the village, he had wondered, since you mentioned being a tactician, if you might give me some pointers on how to address royalty."

She shakes her head. "I'm afraid I'm going to be of little help. I was close friends with the royalty of my world, the crown prince and his little sister actually found me passed out in a field half dead." She then frowns. "My father, as a matter of fact, may he never find peace in the afterlife, took over the throne of our kingdom. I just hope Chrom found a worthy person to fill in the position of monarch," she mutters, almost to herself.

Link almost chokes on his food. "Wait a moment! Are you telling me you're a princess?!"

She looks up at him dully. "If I accepted the role, I could have been. But I refused it, and I will never be one, that I promise. He was not of royal blood, only of Fell, which he passed to me, cursed me with," she growls, clenching her branded hand. "Link, please, do not tell anyone about this, I don't want to be treated any differently. I just want to live a peaceful life. I'm tired of war, and I just have one more mission to complete in your world before I have a chance to go home."

He takes her hand and squeezes gently. "What mission?"

"Find a certain person and give them my help, and I can go home. I don't know who they are, or what they look like, but I feel like I'm close." She then squints her eyes at him, looking deeply into his eyes. "You remind me so much of someone, I just can't think of who," she whispers, leaning forward slightly to get a better look at him.

He shrugs and closes his eyes, polishing off his meal. "I don't know, but whatever the case, I'm going to go get changed for bed. Now, I know you were checking me out earlier, but please don't peek, Robin," he teases her, winking.

Her cheeks light up again, and she buries her face in her arms. "You insufferable male!" she squeals at him, secretly liking the tormenting, and him loving her reactions to the teasing, and wondering just how far she'll let him go.

Haha, Link is a bit of a tease in this, and Robin can't resist him either! How long until they go beyond friendly teasing?

I do not own Fire Emblem or Legend of Zelda


	2. Chapter 2

The wolf wakes up in the dungeon, bleary and disoriented, before recalling with a chill of fear the events at the Spirit's Spring. His head shoots up, and he makes to stand as a human might, but his front right paw jangles, and he looks down in horror to see himself transformed into a beast, covered in black and white fur, the three triangles still clear in the same spot though, oddly enough.

In a panic, he tries to jerk away, only to nearly pull his leg out of the socket, quickly putting a halt to that idea. Next, he tries to slip his paw through the shackle, but it's too small, and without thumbs, a blacksmith, or key, it would be a hopeless endeavor to even attempt. Taking a small sniff, he decides to just suck it up and try twisting the chains, if only to see if any of the links are weak enough that if they are twisted enough they will snap.

A laugh makes him stop and look up, finding a small, masked, redheaded imp floating just in front of the bars inside of his cell. "Finally, I found you!" she exclaims, way too cheerful in such a dark place. He crouches low to the ground and growls, feeling threatened and showing it. "Now, now, no need to be mean, I was planning on helping you, after all, that tactician friend of yours did take the time to find me and ask if I knew where you had been taken," she taunts him. "I don't think you would want to disappoint her, now would you?" Immediately, he stops growling and stands upright, worried about Robin, as she had been hurt at the Spring, as well as Ilia, when she managed to get Colin out through the hidden tunnel. "That's better."

She then focuses, cupping her hands together to form a ball, glowing with a dark red and black swirling light, which she then releases, throwing it at the chain holding the wolf to the ground. He jumps in surprise at the sudden freedom, looking at the few links attached to the shackle.

She gets in his face, laughing obnoxiously. "Shocked by the power of the Twilight?" she mocks him, making him snap at her. She simply flies back and out of his reach, laughing all the more at his actions. "Now, I'm sure you are wondering where you are. If you want to know, there is someone here who wants to see you who will tell you. But first, you need to find a way to get out here, since I clearly can't do everything for you, wolf-boy."

After digging his way out, flooding the prison, learning to see spirits, dog paddle in wolf form, draining the prison, and learning to attack properly, Link was starting to get the hang of things, although he wasn't quite sure he appreciated being whacked on the head, kicked on the side, or having his ears pulled at Midna's whims, not to mention being taunted like he was some useless fool who didn't know how to put two pieces of a puzzle together. After finally reaching fresh air, and only finding the outside to be slightly lighter than the dungeon, they found even more spirits, which they bypassed for lack of time and the incoming Twili attack. Jumping around carefully and strategically, Link managed to take down the creature in just a couple of strikes, though it took a moment to get the awful taste out of his mouth again. Shaking his head, he continued onto the path to the tower to where the unknown person awaited him, whose outline he could see in a window higher up.

Climbing up an open window in the tower, Link and Midna check for guards in the staircase before jumping down and running up to a room at the very top, where a person wearing a black cloak bearing the Sheikah symbols stands staring out the iron laced windows into the thunderstorm, into the Twilight. Link, unfamiliar with this person, growls, while Midna giggles at the reaction.

The person turns around with a gasp, revealing it to be a woman, a very startled one at that. Sensing her shock and relief that it was only them and not someone else, Link stops growling and steps forward, making Midna roll her eyes.

The woman stares at them in awe. "Midna?" she asks, unsure if this is a dream.

She snorts to herself. "You remembered my name? What an honor, Your Highness. I found him, by the way, down in the dungeons, like that tactician predicted he would be. Who is she, anyway?"

The woman shakes her head. "I've no clue who she is, as I haven't met her yet, but I have a feeling I ought to meet her sometime soon. Perhaps find a way in through the city for her to get here, since you couldn't teleport her?"

"Perhaps, but we have more important matters. He was imprisoned, under your watch."

The woman in the cloak looks down at the shackle with guilt. "For that I apologize." She then meets Link's eyes. "Listen, time is short, so I must give Midna a written copy for you to read over once you have regained your human form, so that you may understand. But know that this was not what I wanted to happen. My name is Princess Zelda, this was once Hyrule Castle, and by all that is holy, I beg you for your aid, Hero of Twilight." She then looks to Midna. "Hurry, before the guard arrives, he'll be here any time now," she urges, and the imp teleports herself and the wolf out of the room without delay, and back to Ordon Spring, where they find the place abandoned.

Link looks around the place, expecting to have returned to being human, then sighs, realizing he is still a wolf. "Yeah, sorry, but you get to keep your fur for a bit longer. Maybe it has something to do with the origin of the spell being cast on you, who knows?" Midna's voice echoes from his shadow, and he realizes she has to hide there, as she must be some sort of shadow being. "So, if we want to find a way to fight back, Hero of Twilight, I suggest you get some weapons, just for starters. Unless, of course, you decide to continue using those pearly whites of yours, but I certainly don't plan on doing the same. So, go fetch me a sword and shield from your precious village."

Grumbling to himself, Link makes his way towards his house, coming across two monsters that try to kill him. He attacks them without hesitation, practically ripping out their throats, before realizing what he's just done. He's just taken a couple more lives, not just to defend somebody else, but just because he needed to get to some material object, and they thoughtlessly attacked him. In a way, he was no better than them in that moment. He felt as though he could be ill for a moment, before realizing that it was better that he killed them, or they would have killed him, or the children, or someone else in the village, or even… Robin, dare he even think it.

Worry for her suddenly pushing him on, he picks up a metallic scent that he knows should never have belonged in the village, for nobody ever had that much metal on or near them in their lives, not even Rusl, their blacksmith, leading him to think it could only be her scent. Finding it to be rather fresh, fairly recent and headed in the direction of the village, he follows the trail, only to find the path blocked by her, the sword and shield he had in mind in her hands, a knowing look in her eyes, the scent of metal on her stronger than ever before, coming off of her coat and gown.

"Link, I know that's you. Midna, thank you for finding him, but did you seriously want him to cause another panic in the village?" she asks the female imp she knows is hiding in his shadow.

The being she speaks to comes out of hiding, laughing. "Well, I didn't know if you would have had time to recover enough from your own wounds to go on ahead of us, Your Highness."

"Do not call me that, Midna. I am no royal, you know that," she growls, before fixing the blade and shield to the back of her coat, over the top of her silver ensemble once again. "The children have been abducted, even Ilia. I was too badly injured for them to bother with taking me away, but she was only stunned, from what I could see," she informs the transformed human, kneeling on the ground and running her fingers through the fur behind his ears gently and tantalizingly slowly. He presses his nose against her wrist, making her stop and rise back to her feet, leading the way back to the forest as Midna returns to his shadow. "I'm fine now, just a little sore, but the worst has passed from the slight blood loss. Rusl was hurt pretty badly in the attack when the children were taken, and I was knocked unconscious at some point when I tried to get away from the Spring, so I was unable to help him fight the goblins off." She shakes her head. "Gods, we were so powerless. Just like that day when she…"

Link, sensing her extreme distress, whines and noses her hand, licking her fingers delicately. "Link, that's gross!" Midna exclaims from his shadow. "Robin, don't let him do that!"

She shakes her head. "I can't find it in me to really care at the moment, Midna."

A lamenting song comes from the Spring as they pass. "… Youth… turned… to a… beast… by the… powers of… darkness. Come to me…" it beckons. Trading looks with one another, they step past the ruins of the gate. "The former… Avatar to Grima… and Hero… of Twilight… come to me…" he calls to them. They make it halfway into the water before jagged stone pillars traced with red Twili design crash down in a circle around them, forming a blockade around them. "Beware… monsters approach… to steal the light… of this world…"

With a sound of disgust, Robin unsheathes the blade, casting both sheathe and shield to the side, getting an angry look from her wolf friend. "I'll dry them later, Link, my injury is on my back and they are irritating it at the moment." She then looks up, frowning in concentration. "This enemy is strong. There is only one coming. The weakness is the head, one of the biggest targets, but easily compensated for in protection by long arms and sharp claws. I don't know if they have any other powers at the moment, maybe you could fill me in on that, Midna?"

"Maybe later," she agrees, before the creature lands on the ground from the portal above them.

The black and red creature, jerky and violent, turns on Link viciously, forcing him to jump back quickly, though he gets a bit of fur trimmed off of his tail anyway. Enraged by the audacity of the creature to attack him, Robin seems to shine with energy before she charges at the monster, slashing once across the face before leaping back almost impossibly far. The Twili, roaring in agony as it simply stands there clutching its face, seems to be blinded as Robin falls to a knee, panting from exertion.

"Link, finish it off!" she pants. "Go for its neck before it can recover!"

Although reluctantly and unsure, he obliges, dashing in and leaping up, throwing the thing off balance and onto its back in the water before he tears at its throat, ending its life. Unlike the monsters before, the Twili's body fades and turns to dust, the same happening to the pillars. He looks over to Robin, finding her on her hands and knees, smelling fresh blood leaking from her, though only a little bit. Worried, he rushes over to her, only to find the water beginning to glow around them, and some of it focusing on her, mainly on where he knew she had been shot by the goblin that afternoon, a beam of light shooting out of the injury as it heals, but not the golden light he knows, rather a greenish tinted one.

"Thank you, Naga," she whispers, before her eyes flutter shut and she collapses forward into the water.

To keep her from accidentally drowning, Link pulls her over to the shore by her coat, being as careful as possible to not rip the fabric, through which he can feel some sort of chain mail he hadn't noticed before lining the coat. He then retrieves the sword, shield, and scabbard, which Midna puts away in some magical pocket, claiming she would never use such items, before he returns to the water to investigate a bit more.

The water glows with both green and golden light, the stones around the Spring lighting up in their ancient, unexplained patterns a light blue. Two glowing figures appear over the water, one a giant glowing version of the goats at the ranch, Ordona; and another, unfamiliar figure, that of a green woman with blue eyes, long hair, pointed ears much like his own, wearing an outfit in green very similar to the gown Robin wears, just without the coat, and favoring a shawl.

Knowing his place to the light spirit and its companion, Link bows low to them. Ordona stamps a hoof in acknowledgement. "Youth who turned to a beast from the powers of Twilight, you now know what the dark ones are capable of. Had you no assistance this night, I may not be having this conversation with you."

The glowing woman steps forward slightly. "You are the Hero of Twilight, yes, but you will face trials that you will need a strong, tested mind for, regardless of what you are about to go through. I have seen the future you are about to go through, and the scars you will collect on the way without her. You must work with Robin, and do not question what orders she gives you, for this is a war you are being thrust into. If I have learned anything about mortals and war, you will recover faster if you both have someone to lean on, both through and after the fighting."

Nodding, Link looks over to find Robin flinching at something in her sleep, like he has the past two nights she's stayed with him at his house, sending a knife through his heart, before he turns to them again. "Hero, if you wish to regain your human form, and restore the land to its proper form, we suggest you return to where you first transformed into a beast. Faron may have the power to restore your human body, but that is only if you can also restore that Light Spirit's power as well, the same that was nearly stolen from me, had you not been here. The darkness is slowly controlling this world, ever more so the longer you linger here. Do not delay." Link bows once more, and the Light Spirit vanishes.

However, the woman does not. "Hero of Twilight, I must warn you of Robin's final moments in her world. She sacrificed her life to save her world, and did not expect to live. She is probably going through the shock of having another chance in another world. Was she fearful when you found her?" He nods in answer to her query. "It is as I feared. I will be sending a friend from her world to aid you soon, she will know who it is and explain the situation. Also, if you ever need to get a message to me about her, just write it on a scrap of paper with Naga on the back and burn it, and I will receive it in my dimension." With that, she fades from sight.

With the dimmed light, Midna emerged from Link's shadow. "Well, the girl needs her sleep, and I know you won't get very far without her in the woods, so you might as well get some rest too. I'll watch over you guys, but you two need to be hidden in that alcove in case someone comes snooping," she grumbles, gesturing to her left, behind him to the right where the secret tunnel lies.

He nods and gently pulls her over, trying not to disturb her too much. He only notices Midna's absence when she returns, dropping a blanket on his head, gesturing at Robin, slightly shivering and still soaked. Taking one corner of the cloth in his extremely sharp teeth, he shakes his head, spreading the thick fabric over her, before going around her and nuzzling the ends under her, tucking her in as best he can, before curling up into a ball at her head. He watches her for a while as the shivering decreases, but doesn't fully go away, just the same as the first two nights as well, an oddity about her. Does she always sleep cold? Should she try sleeping in front of a fire instead of in the loft?

He scoots closer to her and raises her head onto his side, feeling just how cold she is on his very warm side, though heating her very quickly, and her shivering soon ceases, easing into a restful sleep, the first he can tell for the first time since they've met. He then falls into his own sleep, missing the small, knowing smile that passes over Midna's lips.

"When will you two see that you are perfect for each other?" she wonders aloud, before gazing up at the portal above Ordon Spring. "If only you could have been brought together under better circumstances. If only…"

She watches over them through the night, and when the morning light breaks, Link is unhappy to find her beginning to doze off, though understands why she didn't wake him up. He meets her gaze when she checks on him, and nods to let her know she can get some rest before they head out for the day. Happily, she vanishes into his shadow as he noses Robin's cheek.

She groans in her sleep, nuzzling closer into Link's furry side, making him suddenly glad that she can't see him, or he might be a blushing mess. "Five more minutes," she moans tiredly. Feeling a bit evil, he decides to lick her ear. "EEEEWW!" she screeches, jumping away and scrubbing at her ear, glaring at Link. "That was disgusting!" The wolf simply grins as he jumps to his feet, wagging his tail proudly at her, panting wildly and ears perked, eyes wide and playful, stance just as silly. Knowing he was just playing around, she gives it up, and crosses her arms, before scratching behind his ear. "Okay, okay, you got me, Link." She stands up and sighs. "But really, Link, you should-"

"Robin! Get away from the beast!" a woman shouts, running into Ordon Spring, drawing a blade and holding it aloft as she comes to a halt behind the called upon woman.

Link, growling, jumps in front of her protectively as she whirls around, eyes widening in surprise. "Lucina?! What are you doing here?!" She then realizes the other woman is holding a sword on Link. "Hold on, both of you! Stop it!" she shouts, getting between them again, hands raised.

Then, Midna comes out of Link's shadow, rubbing her eye. "What is going on out here? I go to take a nap for ten minutes, and then I come back to find some random stranger here and all of you at each other's throats," she grumbles irritably.

The other woman lowers the blade with a small sob and runs into Robin, giving her a strong hug. "I knew you were alive, I just knew you wouldn't let some measly Fell Dragon take you down that easily!"

"Ow, OW! Lucina!" she cries out as she touches the still tender wound on her back.

She instantly releases her. "I'm sorry!"

She smiles tightly. "It's okay, it's a fresher injury I only got yesterday, it's just really sore still." She then looks up at the other girl. "So, Lucina, how is your Father handling Ylisse?"

She shakes her head. "He wants his tactician back more and more every day, Robin," she laughs, before giving her another, gentler hug. "The Shepherds all miss you very much, you know. And in our world, you've been gone a few weeks already."

Robin nods. "I've been in this world about a week, and spent some time with Naga before that, so time passes the same. I guess that's a good thing." She then looks at Link, watching the whole reunion with interest and confusion. "I'm sorry Link. Lucina, this is Link, a friend who found me when I first got here, and I've been staying with him since I've arrived in his village. Link, this is Lucina, my friend Chrom's daughter from the future, and my daughter in law." He nods to her in recognition, and she does same, although hesitantly. "Lucy, this is Midna, a Twili who is helping us against the usurper king from the Twilight Realm, who is trying to take over Hyrule, this country, in the world of light."

Midna, yawning, stretches and smirks at Lucina. "Child from the future? And her daughter in law? Do you know who her baby daddy is?"

Lucina frowns and shakes her head. "He is not of the same world as the rest of the children and I, for your information, Midna. Although, he may have some sort of relation to someone in this realm, now that I have seen the inhabitants of this world."

The imp merely hums in that annoying way of hers and vanishes into Link's shadow once more. "As much as I would love to stay for chit chat, we really need to be heading out for Faron Woods to get on with things. We can continue having this conversation at a later time, child of the future."

At Lucina's look, Robin shrugs. "I have no idea, Lucy. But I have no idea if you can pass into the Twilight like I can, nor do I want to risk you. We need a fighter here to protect the village, since Rusl is injured, and the Mayor is out searching for the missing children. There is a tree house just down the path, it belongs to Link. Don't go any further down the path, and don't let any monsters past. These are going to be much stronger than any risen than you've faced before, probably than most humans, so be careful, and end any fights as fast as you can."

Lucina, face paling, steps back. "Robin, how do you know?"

The white haired woman shakes her head. "I read through some palace reports that Rusl has, he was a former guard, and I got some information about them while I was in Hyrule Field wandering around before all of this went down. All of my weapons wound up breaking before I got here, and I'm only borrowing Rusl's right now."

The Lord pulls out an extra Silver Sword and two Thoron tomes, as well as her old belt. "I figured you might need some weapons when we found you, so I stocked up on some new ones, and I put a lot of money into making sure they were the best they could be."

Touched, Robin straps the belt around her waist, finding it to still be a perfect fit, and fits the sword in its place, then fits the two tomes into her coat pockets. "Thank you, but… does Chrom know where you are?"

At this, she gives a very nervous laugh, stepping even further back. "Uh… no?" she offers.

"NO?!" she roars, greatly amusing Link, before he noses her hand. "Ugh, we will discuss this later. Once Link is human, and you are properly introduced, you are getting a lecture, the both of you!"

They wince, knowing that this is no passing threat, and that she will sit the both of them down if she must to keep their attention if she must. With that, she hurries off, knowing her assignment to keep the village safe, and the trio of Twili, human, and wolf make their way to the Twilight infested forest, where they find the barrier that Link had originally been pulled though unwillingly.

Midna emerges from his shadow and approaches. "Well, I can give Link passage, but I don't know about you, Robin. Want to see if you will need permission?"

She shrugs. "I'll check, give me a minute." With that, she raises her right hand to the barrier, making Link's heart squeeze almost painfully with nerves, before it passes through slowly, as though through honey. "Hm, it's like something trying to weigh me down, but just for a minute, then the feeling is gone. I'll see you over there then, Link, Midna." She walks the rest of the way through without a problem, and waits for them on the other side of the dark barrier.

Midna, after getting Link's nod of assent to continue with their plan of action, passes through the barriers, then reaches back with a giant, magical hand to pick him up and pull him through. While Robin had described it as being almost weighed down, it felt to him almost as though he was being cooked from the inside out, the pain nearly unbearable, giving his vision black spots for a few minutes afterwards and making him dizzy and disoriented.

Once he had gotten himself together, he found himself in a darkened version of Faron Woods, following the very trail he had followed to save Talo the other day when he had chased the monkey only to be abducted by the goblins. Oddly enough, he finds no trace of Robin other than her small footprints in the dust, and that worries him, so he sniffs her out, only to find a spike in adrenaline entered her scent before it suddenly vanishes. He looks at where he is, finding himself at a tree, and looks up, finding her, hidden among some of the higher branches, studying something in the sky, and Midna flies up to join her.

"What happened? You said you would wait for us!" she scolds the hiding girl.

She cringes and points at the sky. "Those bat things, I think they were Keese, they swooped down at me, and then I saw that portal and I needed to scout out how many Twili there were for us to take care of beforehand, but I'm not seeing any down there yet, so we're going in there blind, essentially."

The imp sighs, and they both descend the tree. "Get ready for a fight, Link. There's another portal up ahead, like the one from Ordon Spring," she informs him. He sighs, and shakes his head, mentally preparing himself for another round of awful tastes to assault his tongue. Maybe he would have to convince Robin to cook something tasty for him tonight, if they had the chance to get anything from Sera's shop tonight before she closed up, considering he had enough rupees in his wallet to afford something nice for a change.

They descend the hill and the jagged stones come down, trapping them in a larger arena, simply blocking the exits this time, and three Twili come down from the portal, slowly circling the three combatants. "Well, since you know how to fight them, I think I'll sit this one out," Midna comments, before rushing out of there.

"Midna!" Robin shouts, before the Twili converge on them, and she rolls out of the way of their sharp claws, Link leaping forward to do the same. As she rises to her feet once more, she stabs her blade into the back of one of them, ending the life of one of them rather quickly. "Link, two more to go! You take one, I have the other!" He barks in agreement, and they focus on their own.

He bends his front legs, lowering himself closer to the ground for better balance as he locks on and waits to time his attack. The Twili pulls its arm back for an attack, and he pounces, taking the opening to force it onto its back at the same time Robin manages to blind her opponent in the same manner as the one she had at the Spring, just without using as much energy. Link rips through the throat of his enemy, taking its life, and just as Robin is about to finish off her opponent, it cries out, freezing them both in their tracks, slowly healing its vision and giving life back to its allies.

"Oh, you have got to be joking!" Robin yelling, slashing at the one that just revived the other two, killing it while it's still distracted. "Midna, I think you could have told us that little tidbit a little bit sooner!"

The imp comes flying back at top speed, depositing herself on Link's back. "Well, I wasn't sure if these guys were that powerful yet, but I guess they are. So, I guess I'll lend you a bit of my power. Just lure the enemies into a small area close to you, and I'll cast a net of power out in a circle around you, and whatever enemies are in it will be marked, and when you're ready, I'll set you loose to attack them, like that silly slingshot you got to share with those children in the village."

Link nods once the remaining two Twili are close enough, and Midna casts her magic, marking them, and just as promised, when Link is ready, she releases him on them like a slingshot, deadly and able to take them down without a hitch. The three bodies vanish, returning to the dust, and the barriers dissipate.

With a sigh, Robin sheathes her blade and turns to the imp. "No more ditching us in a fight now, Midna. We're going to need that kind of tactical advantage if we ever have a large number of enemies surrounding us, and need a quick reprieve."

She nods, almost apologetically. "I know, I'm just not quite used to being in the thick of the fight."

"And I'm sure Link isn't either," she scolds her. "Listen, I know this isn't fair to either of you, since I've been fighting since I first woke up in that field, but you need to accept that in a fight, you can't allow your fears to get the better of you. I don't care if you just want to run and hide, or just defend enough to get by, that won't cut it, because that costs lives in the long run. You have to fight back as hard and as long as you can, without mercy if they won't show you any in return."

Midna looks away in shame. "They were once my people. We were once a kind and gentle people."

"And mine were once as well, before war tore them apart, and a mad king thirsty for vengeance poisoned their minds. Believe me, Midna, war and vengeance do horrifying things to all beings."

* * *

Okay, gonna flip to Ylisse in the next chapter to see how the Shepherds are doing for a quick cutscene, but it will be very short. Just how much do they miss their tactician, and what is Lissa planning for Robin when her best friend gets back?

I do not own Fire Emblem or Legend of Zelda.


	3. Sorry for the wait! Chapter 3

Ylisse

Sighing, Chrom leans back in his chair, finished with the last document of the day, and just awaiting Frederick's return this afternoon from Regna Ferox with the reports of the search for Robin. Thinking of his small tactician friend, he sighs, thinking of all the memories he had with her.

 _Walking up to her tent, he hears a growl from within, followed by the sound of paper being crumpled and thrown away, hitting the side of the tent. "Useless plan…" her voice echoes angrily, making him shake his head with a grin._

 _He walks in, finding her bent over her desk, several candles burnt out and piles of balled up papers all over the tent. With a whistle, he approaches her, pulling down her hood as he steps up behind her. "Now, Robin. You know what we agreed on, your plans are not useless."_

 _She whirls on him and swats his hand away. "Chrom! What are you doing here?"_

" _I came to check on you, since you are late to dinner and you just said your plan was useless." Before she can open her mouth to protest, he hefts her over his shoulder and carries her out of the tent. "You need a break, and what better excuse do you need to go get some dinner?"_

 _Breaking out of her stunned silence after a moment of being carried around, she starts pounding on his back. "Let me down, Chrom! I know how to walk!"_

 _At her raised voice, the other Shepherds in the mess tent come running out to see the spectacle of their two leaders messing around, not being disappointed once again by their prince. "But Robin, weren't you complaining earlier of having hurt your ankle?" he asks her only too innocently._

 _She glares at the back of his head, losing the effect as he continues to look forward. "You jerk! That was weeks ago! Put me down!" She eventually gives up the struggle, pouting as she hangs over his shoulder. "You insufferable Prince," she growls._

He smiles, thinking back to all the good times of tormenting Robin just because he could, even though he was married. Sumia never even minded, simply because she understood that they would never look at each other in that fashion, and the two of them were best friends on top of that. Chuckling, he pushes himself away from the desk, grabbing a flask of water and blanket, deciding that some time outside with little Lucina is in order.

Dashing off to the small girl's playroom in the family wing of the palace, he finds the place in a frenzy, maids running around in a panic, almost as Robin would have said, _like headless chickens._ Smiling fondly at the chaos she would have loved to have borne witness to, he dodges around them effortlessly, finding the playroom a mess, with a heap of curtains surrounding a proudly self-swaddled Lucina, though even he finds himself stumped at how she found herself that way as the maids try to clean up the mess around her as she strains against her bonds.

He approaches her cautiously. "Lucy, how did you manage to do this?" he asks her carefully, taking one end of the curtain and beginning to untangle her to the best of his abilities.

She grins and laughs up at him. "I slipped off the windowsill, and I grabbed the curtain, but then it came down, and I tried to spin like Auntie Robbie taught me to, and I got stuck like this, and, and… yeah!"

He laughs at the neat trap Robin had taught her to keep her in one place without her realizing it at the time, one which the small girl would realize soon enough. "Alright, well, let's get you out of here, and go play outside, what do you say to that?"

"Yes please!" she cheers, squirming even more as he works on freeing her.

Faron Woods

Link sighs and pulls the curious amnesiac away from the ruined pier, and further from the purple fog just below which clearly disturbs her. He doesn't understand it, but he can smell the waves of fear rolling off of her, as well as the adrenaline in preparation to fight off something horrible, but he can't figure out what. Once she's far enough back to where she's in no danger of falling into the poisonous gas, he turns to the imp riding on his back for some sort of assistance.

She shakes her head as she turns to the disturbed human. "Robin?" she asks, worried even for the seemingly heartless Twili. The twitching woman flinches as she turns to face them, pale and sweating more than the cold air should allow. "Maybe you should go back to Ordon Spring and let us handle this, something's clearly bothering you about the Twilight."

She stubbornly shakes her head, letting crystalline droplets of sweat fly everywhere. "N-no, I'm fine. I just… I can't explain it, but I feel like I've been through something like this before. Like a dark world without any light. Not even another soul around…" she trails off, eyes glazing over as she stares into the fog.

 _A little girl with filthy white hair huddles under the thin scraps of clothes in the corner of her dungeon, staring at the door as she awaits the daily meal, and the painful light of the fire that comes with it, brought by the soulless person in dull metal who laughs at her screams of pain as she covers her eyes to block the light from her sensitive eyes. Sometimes another comes with him for the occasion, sometimes two, more often though he is alone, for this is his job, and his alone._

 _Her stomach clenches in pain once more, even more than the last time, and the sound of someone in pain in the distance, and a small, muffled clatter soon after right outside the door, before it soundlessly swings open. A tall woman with black hair stands outside, holding a shielded candle in her hand as another girl the same age as the little girl steps forward, holding out a small blanket to her._

" _Come on, we need to hurry," she whispers to the other girl, who stares at her in fear._

 _The white haired girl takes the blanket, wrapping it around herself and folding a hood over her head. Cautiously, she takes the hand of the other girl, black haired with a jagged golden tiara almost too big for her resting in her hair. After a moment, they make their way out of the cell, finding the woman to have a small bundle at her feet packed with clothes, food, and water, as well as a white haired boy, covered in blood and a permanent grin on his face._

" _Robin," she whispers, "thank the gods you're alright. Come, we need to hurry, before the guards come to investigate the noise."_

Blinking, she looks down at her hands, and bites her lip. "I-I don't know what is in my past, Link, Midna, but I don't want to remember. If I forgot once, and it's caused me so much grief that I was willing to turn to Grima in another life, then I don't want to know."

Link nods in understanding, before he hears the telltale crackling of the tear carrier they are hunting for. Eyes widening as he sees it behind her, he leaps at her, tackling her out of the way before it can hurt her. Midna, seeing what he had, throws a beam of fire at it, trying to destroy it but missing as it flies away, crackling with power. Looking at the woman under him, Link assures himself Robin is unharmed but for a bit of dirt on her clothes and a small bruise before joining the chase, as it leads Midna further from the pier and dangerously closer to the gas.

Without really thinking, she lands on his back, and he gives the signal for her to work her magic, and he leaps at it, barely missing falling into the fog. "Link, you fool!" Midna scolds him. "At least watch where you're about to attack these things before you launch yourself!"

He looks back at her apologetically as the tear is released from the remains of the twilight creature, floating into the carrier Faron had given to Robin, hidden in one of the many pockets of her endless coat. She rises to her feet slowly, glancing around before pointing out a branch poking out of the fog. "You guys could jump over the fog, but I'll be stuck over here until we can figure out a way to transport me across, or even to the Forest Temple. Even then, I think I'd be stuck unless we found a way to clear the fog so I could follow."

Midna nods her head in agreement. "True, since my powers don't work very well in the light, making it all the more difficult for me to transport you around once the area is set back to normal again. So, Link and I should forge on without you?"

Robin nods reluctantly. "I guess so. I'll wait for the two of you at Faron Spring." She turns to walk away, then stops, turning back and pulling out the Tear Vessel. "You guys might want to carry this around, rather than leaving it with me."

Midna snaps her fingers, and it vanishes to whatever magical pocket she constantly sends Link's belongings. "We'll have this done in no time, Robin. You just go and relax."

Robin nods, and stops for a moment to scratch Link behind the ear. His eyes close as he enjoys the odd but wonderful treatment. "Be careful, the both of you," she whispers, before pulling out the lantern and vanishing back into the cave system once more.

Link turns away from her, and focuses on the branch Robin had pointed out, bracing himself for a long jump as Midna flies to hover over it to help him focus better on his target, giggling to lighten the serious mood of what they are doing. Before he has the chance to let his will crumble, he jumps, and Midna flies to the next branch, and he follows, before she hovers over the side of a hill just out of the fog's reach. He follows her through the maze of the higher passage of the forest, careful not to lose his balance on his precarious perches, and killing several more of the insects, collecting the stolen Tears of Light, before they finally manage to reach the gates leading to the Forest Temple, where two more lie in wait, before burrowing into the ground.

"Uh, that's inconvenient, now isn't it?" Midna comments, listening to the scratching of them digging through the dirt, burrowing closer towards the open gate. "Link, can you track them? I can't figure out where they're going from the sound of them burrowing around.

He nods, sniffing the ground and stepping forward cautiously, before leaping towards an innocent spot and digging furiously, and pouncing down on the creature that comes straight at him, snapping powerful jaws over it and killing it quickly to release the Tear, and get the awful taste of the creature's blood out of his mouth, before tracking the next bug. Listening carefully, he tracks it to the edge of the hill, right before it descends into the purple fog. Waiting patiently and silently, he crouches down, ready to pounce the second it moves into a safer place for him to dig it out.

After a little while, it finally burrows away from the fog, and he makes his move, jolting Midna in her seat upon his back as he randomly pounces, digging again in the same manner, but this bug comes out fighting, electrified, forcing Link to jump away and circle it until it ceases to attack. The instant it stops thrumming with stolen energy, the great wolf leaps into the air, closing his jaws over the creature, crushing the life from it and collecting the tear in the Vessel, before looking up and back at Midna.

"What? We can go find the last couple of bugs past the gate, if Faron's tracking is accurate," she informs him. With a bark, he dashes off into the next area, only to be locked into another arena with Twili awaiting his arrival. "Oh, come on! And we don't have Robin here to help us this time Link, so maybe try luring them all close together and then I'll slingshot you?" she guesses at a tactic.

Many swipes and shorter hairs later, Link regards her with a glare and a huff, before pouncing on one of the Twili, ripping at its throat, then leaping away as the other two try to close in on him. Stamping his paw for the signal, he brings Midna's attention back to the fight, and she uses her magic to let him attack the remaining creatures. They vanish into dust once again, and Link rushes forward, knowing the end is finally in sight as he spots the two remaining bugs at the blocked entrance to the Forest Temple.

They both electrify at the same time, as he takes notice of the panicked monkey spirit on top of a wooden pedestal, crying out for help. "Link, let's get rid of these bugs so we can get back to Robin!" Midna crows, kicking his sides in excitement as he growls, focusing on his prey. They focus on him as well, closing in on him just as they lose their charge. Without even needing a signal, Midna charges Link with power, putting them in range for a single attack, and releases him. "Finally!" she cheers, as the Tears float into the Vessel.

The monkey looks around in confusion and relief, before sighing. "I wonder what happened? Maybe it has something to do with why the boss went crazy, and why those human children wandered alone into the woods?"

Whatever else she might have said is lost as the Tears fill the last leaves of the Vessel, ringing out and emanating an eerie, gentle lament and a pure, healing blue light fills the area, focusing on Link before he vanishes. He soon appears before the Spring in his human form, the Twilight lifted from the Woods once more.

Midna, nothing more than a shadow hovering over the water in front of him, nearly pouts. "I don't see what it is that you like so much about the light. I thought it was rather pretty shrouded in the Twilight… not that it's not still pretty even in the Light." The runes decorating the stones all around the Spirit's Spring glow, and she laughs. "I'll be going, now," she calls, vanishing into his shadow once more.

Robin grumbles to herself as she slices the air above her head, trying but failing to hit the flaming Keese trying to attack her. "OW!" she cries out as a bit of flaming spit lands next to her boot, the heat penetrating the strong leather. "That's it!" she growls, pulling out her Thoron tome. "You're finished," she whispers, and releases the power of the thunder, electrifying them to the point where they explode in flying bits of smoking flesh, charred before they return to the dust.

She sighs in annoyance, sheathing her blade, but keeping the tome in her hands in case she finds a need for it once more. Light begins to filter in as she nears the end of the tunnel, the sounds of wildlife floating to her on the gentle draft. She hurries forward, eager to get back to the Spring that she was supposed to be back at half an hour ago, only to find Link at the locked gates to the caves. "Link! You're a human again!" she calls with a smile, conveniently not noticing the green tunic he's now wearing.

He grins back at her. "It's good to be human again! No more biting those things again for a while!" he comments as he inserts the key into the padlock on the gate. "I think we ought to head back to Ordon, just to assure everyone that I'm alright now. Then we can come back and check the Forest Temple."

She brightens up at that. "And I can properly introduce you and the village to Lucina while we're there."

"Not a bad idea to do that as well," he murmurs to himself as Robin pulls the gate doors open, before he envelopes her in a massive hug. "Don't you go getting yourself hurt again, you hear me?" he orders her. "I was so worried about you."

She smiles and wraps her arms around him. "I promise to try to not get hurt anymore. But I make no guarantees of the injuries that I may or may not sustain."

He lowers his arms from her shoulders to her waist, and sighs in acceptance. "I guess that's as good as I'll get, isn't it?"

"I've made that very promise more times than I care to mention," she whispers, burying her face into his chest, and inhaling the scent of old fabric, forest, and a wooden, sap-like scent that fits him so well.

"Then at least I know that you can take care of yourself," he whispers into her hair, pulling her tightly against himself. After a few minutes of standing in each other's arms, they step away from one another, and silently turn to head back to his treehouse.

Robin silently takes in the beauty of the forest she had only been through twice, the first time having been lost in thought and not able to pay attention to her surroundings, and the second too focused on moving forward and battling the Twili. Now, she listens to the calming songs of birds, the gentle breeze carrying the scent of grass and storms on its cool gusts as it rustles the trees. She takes in a deep breath, realizing the peace she has found here to only be matched by that at Naga's Temple.

The peace also reminds her of the one mission she utterly failed…

 _She rides in a carriage alone, separate from all the other Shepherds, giving the longtime friends the space to mourn their beloved leader together, and the Prince and Princess to grieve for the loss of their elder sister. Tears fall down her cheeks as heavy, almost painful sobs tear through her._

 _Yes, she had put on a brave face for the others, for Chrom, in order to give them the strength and determination to make it through the forces blocking their escape, but doing so had nearly killed her on the inside. As much as she had wanted to break down, or block out the world, she couldn't do that to their army, or they would have died where they stood._

 _Emmeryn… how could she have been so at peace with her fate? How could she so easily forgive the king who had invaded her home, abducted her, nearly assassinated her multiple times? How was she such a kind soul even to her own people after all they had put her through as their ten-year-old Exalt? How could she not say a goodbye to her family in her last words…?_

 _She curls into herself as tightly as she can, not even bothering to leave the carriage when it stops for the night near the Feroxi border. She can't bear to see Chrom, or Lissa, not when she had given them such high hopes of leaving Plegia with their sister. She had promised them she could save Emmeryn, and she had failed. She could only imagine the disappointment, the rage, even the hate of the Shepherds for her failure. She couldn't imagine that they would allow her to remain their tactician much longer, not after today… but where could she go? She suffered amnesia, she had nobody waiting for her anywhere… that she knew of. And she knew the Shepherds wouldn't ever want to see her again, not even if she was friends with many of them, had recruited some of them alongside Chrom._

 _Someone knocks at the door to her carriage sometime near midnight, concerned for the tactician nobody had seen since they had piled into the other carriages. Her choking sobs are the only response they receive, before the door opens, and, surprisingly enough, Frederick sits in the seat across from her, wary eyes filled with grief and sympathy for the amnesiac fighting a war not her own as he closes the door._

" _Robin…" he begins. "The others are worried. You can't stay in here forever," he whispers softly, so strange from his usual tough, unreadable tone._

 _She shakes her head as another sob wracks her body. "Can't I, Frederick?" she gasps. "I failed! Don't try to tell me otherwise! I promised them, and I failed!" she cries, before curling up tighter. "Just leave me alone!"_

 _She never sees the pain that fills his eyes at her words, and never hears the sigh that he releases as he steps out of the carriage. "You aren't to blame, Robin," he whispers, even though he doesn't think she hears him as the door closes._

I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening or Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess


	4. Chapter 4 and AN at bottom!

As they reach the gorge, Robin finally takes note of his outfit. "Link, I could have sworn you weren't wearing that before," she comments lightly, though she sneaks an appreciative glance at him, approving of this outfit for rough life and combat.

"Oh, yeah, about that…" he laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Apparently, I'm the Hero of Twilight, and I've got to-"

"Hero of Twilight?!" she cries, shocked.

"Yeah… why?" he asks slowly.

She grins up at him. "You're the one I was sent to help!"

"Wait, what?" he asks almost dumbly.

She nods enthusiastically. "Naga gave me two choices: stay as a spirit and watch everyone in my world move on and die without me, or come to another world in peril to aid the rising Hero there."

"Hyrule," he murmurs. "But, why would you risk losing all of them? What if something goes wrong, and we don't win this?"

Her eyes suddenly darken at the thought. "I never really thought about that… but I had to try." She wraps her arms around herself at the admission. "There's a boy, back in Ylisse, from another dimension of my world, where Grima had nearly destroyed all that we knew. We found him in a temple crawling with Risen, much like the Twili here but with weapons and claws, suffering amnesia. After the fight, he claimed that I was his mother, but he has no recollection of his father aside from a different sword, combat style, and a pair of earrings."

"What's his name?" Link asks her quietly, wrapping an arm about her shoulders.

"Morgan," Robin answers simply. "I freely admit that I've come to care for him, and I wasn't happy about deciding to sacrifice myself, knowing I would leave everyone behind… but with the chance to go back after this task… I saw the heartbreak in his eyes, he was crying so hard… I don't think I would have forgiven myself if I didn't come to this world."

Ylisse

Chrom frowns as he stares at one of the last letters he exchanged with Robin before the war with Valm sadly.

 _Hey Chrom,_

 _I've been thinking about traveling soon. With nothing happening to require my involvement with the Shepherds these past months, I've realized that, as much as I see all of you as my family, all that I could want in life… I want to find out what happened before we met in that field._

 _You know I still have no recollection of what happened, and I'm wondering if it isn't bothering only me anymore. I want to try to find these memories, and though it scares me to even think of leaving the safely of Ylisstol to do so, I feel that it's something I have to do._

 _Of course, I need to have your permission to pursue such a venture, as I'm still a member of the Shepherds._

 _Then again, I still need time to plan the trip, if I ever do want to get around to it. We are still rather young, and I'm not sure if it's even worth the bother… do you get it? I feel like I'm just rambling now, but if I do want to go, would you give your blessing?_

 _But as I've said, this is just a possibility. Would you mind too terribly at least thinking about it, or give me a suggestion of where I might start? Even with simple research with Muriel?_

 _You don't have to get back to me about it right away, Chrom. I'm in no hurry, and this is all still hypothetical._

 _Anyway, how is Lucina? And how about Sumia? I've not been to see you all in a while, and I somewhat miss all of you._

 _Looking forward to a reply,_

 _Robin_

He never did get around to replying. A day before he planned to talk to her about it, word had reached them about the threat of Valm, so it had been left in his office throughout the war, during which the entire proposal had been forgotten. Even in the brief interim between the war and the fight with the Grimleal that took her life, they had been distracted with the arrival of so many children from the alternate dimension, as well as with the small wedding between Lucina and Morgan. It's been one of his latest regrets, and he doesn't really know how to make up for it, even if she were alive he doesn't know where he might start.

He spies one of the journals on the edge of his desk, currently blank but for her name embossed in golden script; it was to be a gift along with a series of other books and tomes. Now all sit atop everyone's desks in their offices as reminders of their lost friend. Maybe…

 _Dear Robin,_

 _I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to write back to you… almost two years now, I've just realized. Your letter came to me, and I was about to compose a response the day Regna Ferox called upon us, at least to have a meeting with you rather than discussing your leave on paper._

 _It's been over a month since you died in my arms, and I still don't know if I'm alright. We all worry for Morgan, but Lucina was there until a week ago to keep him intact. I don't know what's happened between them, but now she has gone, and something about Morgan has improved, as though he's begun to hope, or at least move on a little. I've asked after him when we have meals as a family, and he says he begun to accept your choice, even though we all know he doesn't like it. He's prayed for you at the temple, and lights your favorite incense in the hopes that it would make you happy that you're still remembered and loved._

 _Sumia has been a little ill these past days, and the Healers are finally being allowed to look at her. Little Lucina is absolutely precious… I don't recall if I ever set plans for her godsparents, but I think that I would have chosen you for the job. She misses you so much, even though she barely remembers you._

 _I've not much more to really say… the truth is that I just miss you, Robin. You were as a sister, to Lissa, Emm, and myself. It never mattered to Lissa and I that you were the daughter of Validar, or what he planned for you in the end. What mattered is that you stood by us in our worst moments, that you did all you could to make up for any failures you felt you had committed. I think you were the strongest of the Shepherds; to be able to stay on with us after all you've been through proves that, especially with your thoughtless sacrifice._

 _Look at me, I think I'm starting to cry now. Damn it Robin, why didn't you let me strike that final blow? The world would have gone on just as well as normal, and there would still have been someone to stop Grima again in the future. It happened with Marth a thousand years ago, and I know it would have happened again! Why did you have to go? We need you Robin, now more than ever. We're falling apart without you…_

 _I'll write you again soon, I promise_

 _Chrom_

Wiping the tears from his cheeks, he gently closes the journal and places it in the top drawer of his desk. Taking a moment to collect himself, he opens the nearby envelope, glowing slightly blue in a light much like the portal to the Outrealms.

 _The Shepherds of Ylisse are hereby invited to compete in_

 _The Tournament of the Realms!_

 _Hosted in the Outrealms, you need simply to present this invitation, and the trader will send you through free of any further expenses._

 _All room and board will be provided, you and those with you simply need bring your choice of weapons and personal amenities._

 _This event shall take place throughout the month of August._

 _And remember, you never know who you will find here!_

He blinks at the invitation, before leaves the office. He has a meeting to organize with the Shepherds.

Ordon Village

Robin stands with Lucina as Link walks into the village. "Was there any trouble while we were gone?" she asks the blue haired princess.

"None," Lucina answers with undisguised relief. "I truly worried that there would be something, but no enemies approached after your departure."

Robin sighs in relief. "Thank the Gods," she murmurs. "Do you know about Rusl's condition?"

"I had to send him back home a little while ago. Even heavily injured, he tried to search for the children, but he was too weak, and had no weapon," she answers with a frown. "He was muttering something about old friends in Castle Town that might be able to fight back."

"Castle Town?" Robin muses. "I was there briefly when I arrived in Hyrule, and I escaped the Province before the Twilight began to spread, and only barely at that." She almost hesitates, before turning to her daughter-in-law. "How was Morgan, before you came?"

Lucina sighs. "He wasn't doing very well, but when I said I would do what I could with Naga, he got better. He just asked that I do what I can to bring you home safely."

She smiles sadly. "I just don't want to fail someone else…"

 _She wakes slowly in a large tent, eyes dry and not in the damp clothes she had fallen asleep in. She wipes her eyes slowly as she pushes herself to sit upright, and recognizes Chrom's tent, and his camp bed she lies warmly bundled in. He comes into the tent as she takes in the knowledge she wears her spare clothes rather than her nightshirt, and stares at the Prince with a small amount of fear._

 _His eyes are rimmed red with tears, and she bows her head in shame. She made him a promise, one she knew she shouldn't have, and broke it. Chrom has every right to hate her, to banish her, imprison her, beat her to death, execute her…_

 _His arms wrap around her gently as he sits on the bed next to her, and her eyes well with tears once more, even as his own eyes fill yet again. "I don't blame you, Robin," he murmurs into her hair as the tears trickle from her eyes, dampening his shoulder. "This is Gangrel's fault, not yours. You did all you could, I know that."_

" _I promised she would come back with us," she sobs, even as his arms tighten around her._

" _I made you promise, Robin, and I'm sorry I did so," he whispers thickly. "Emm… Emm wouldn't have blamed you, I promise. You still have a home in Ylisse, we still have the Shepherds to be our family."_

 _Her arms wrap tentatively around him in return, and he sighs, burying his face into her shoulder as she does with his shoulder._

Okay, see people! I haven't abandoned this story! So no more requests for adoptions, I'm not giving up the rights to my stories, I've just been busy both with other stories for my overactive imagination and college work. I have a legitimate excuse for super long updates, and I kinda rushed this chapter because of the genius wanting to take over this story.

However, if the reviewer who wanted to adopt this is pissed about this, then log in so I can actually message you back. We can talk, but you aren't taking my main story.

Please review everyone! And again, I'm really sorry about not updating sooner, I thought I updated this over the summer, and it turned out to be last summer when I checked!


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